February 4th was press night for Rami Malek, Indira Varma and the cast of ‘Oedipus’ in a new production at London’s Old Vic Theatre, running from January 21 to March 29, 2025.

This adaptation, directed by Hofesh Shechter and Matthew Warchus with a text by Ella Hickson, presents a vivid mix of choreography and intense performances, emphasising dance as central to the tragedy.

The production stages Thebes under a dystopian climate crisis, with Rami Malek delivering a haunting and powerful portrayal of Oedipus. The show has been noted for its visually arresting moments and compelling physical interpretations, though some critics mention that Hickson’s text struggles to find a resonant voice, delivering lines that lack significant emotional depth.

Here, we round up the reviews of ‘Oedipus’ whilst giving our own slant and opinion on the show.

1. The Stage: ‘Striking imagery and performances from Rami Malek and Indira Varma bring attention-grabbing spectacle to this shallow Sophocles adaptation by Ella Hickson’. According to Dave Fargnoli, it is ‘ambitious’ but ‘incoherent’ and ‘puts style firmly ahead of substance.’
2. The Guardian: David Jays praises the production design; ‘Thebes gasps with drought under a harsh red sun and Tom Visser’s lighting, a dust storm in charcoal and crimson’, as well as the sound and dancing ‘Shechter’s soundtrack of fervent chants and wild drums rattles the Old Vic’s plasterwork, volume rising like panic, and his dancers are on fire. They’re mosh pit ecstatics – hands raised in plea or pleasure, lolloping, squirming. They scrabble, shuffle or form a serpentine scrawl of bodies.’
3. What’s On Stage: On performance, Sarah Crompton remarks that ‘Varma’s performance is characteristically intelligent, full of subtle thought and feeling. Malek, making his UK stage debut, begins well, cast as a kind of JFK orator who will offer balm for all society’s ills, but as he disintegrates, he struggles to change gear, and to mine the devastating effects of his odyssey.’ Ultimately she concludes that ‘Overall, it’s a frustrating, uneven production, full of good ideas and powerful images, but ultimately dancing on the surface of Sophocles’s profoundly questing play, never quite piercing to its dark heart.’
4. The Standard: Tim Bano for The Standard wasn’t so enamoured by the production, commenting that ‘Hickson has interesting stuff to say about populism, faith and fanaticism, but Oedipus works when it’s an inexorable plummet towards revelation and tragedy; here, whenever the tension starts to ratchet up, something weird like a sassy Tiresias (the wonderful Cecilia Noble) or a long dance sequence cuts it dead, like we’re flicking through different TV channels.’

Here at Lucky Break News we had the good fortune of seeing this play on the 5th February, and were blown away by the pulsating force of it. We’d edge on disagreeing with some of the critics negative comments surrounding the use of dance and sound within the production, for us it added a primal dynamic and an electricity to the show. The dancers lightly flicker between contemporary dance that had a primal and Neanderthal-esque movement to it, and balletic movements that echo the plays sentiments of the thin line that separates prim and proper nobility and barbarism.

Rami Malek gives a statesman-like, powerful performance with a strong, chest-heavy resonance that dominates the stage as he addresses the audience like the people of Thebes, whilst also bringing the strange, eccentric yet captivating style that we all know him for. Indira Varma is, well, like Indira Varma usually is; incredibly talented and finely in tune with her well-trained instrument.

The visually striking show has several moments that will be seared onto our retinas, like the bright background light with the singular silhouetted door, as well as when the rain finally arrives and it pours down upstage, down into a drain in the centre of the stage as the dancers play and frolic in it.

On until March 29th 2025, this is surely not one to miss.

The Stage – 3 out of 5 stars

The Guardian – 4 out of 5 stars

What’s On Stage – 3 out of 5 stars

The Standard – 3 out of 5 stars